© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Place of John the Baptist's baptism at the mouth of the Jordan and (near-obliterated) lion hunting a gazelle.

Most of the labels are in Cisjordan (modern Israel), and are concerned with Biblical locales, regional names, and events. For example, the map marks Jericho with palm trees, 12 stones at Gilgal, Jacob’s well in Shechem, tribal allotments, the Oak of Mamre at Hebron, John’s baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, Benjamin, Judah, and Bethlehem. The map was restored in 1965 under the direction of H. Donner.

The floor mosaic is located in the apse of the church of Saint George at Madaba. It is not oriented northwards, like modern maps, but faces east towards the altar in such a fashion that the position of places on the map coincides with the actual compass directions. Originally, it measured 21 by 7 m and contained over two million tesserae.

Its current dimensions are 16 meters by 5 meters.

Tags:   الْأُرْدُنّ‎ المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎ Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdunnīyah Al-Hāshimīyah Jordan Al-'Urdunn The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Arab country Western Asia East Bank of the Jordan River God, Country, King King Abdullah II Jordan Explorer مادبا Via Regia Medba Medeba mosaicos bizantinos omíadas mosaico bizantino VI Mapa de Madaba mapa da Terra Santa mosaico mosaic piso floor igreja ortodoxa de São Jorge central Jordan Madaba Byzantine-era mosaics Christian Community the King's HIghway Madaba Archaeological site John the Baptist's baptism gazelle lion USAID ACOR UNESCO

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Known as the city of mosaics, Madaba is located just 30 kilometers south of Amman. The production of drawings with small pieces of colored stone arose and dominated the locality during the periods of Roman and Byzantine domination, between the II and VII centuries. There are mosaics scattered throughout churches, fortifications even within ordinary dwellings. Among all, the great highlight and one of the must-see things to do in Jordan is the 'Map of Madaba'. It covers part of the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of St. George, and can be visited from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except for Fridays and Sundays, when the temple opens only at 10:30 p.m.

The map dates from the sixth century and shows the city of Jerusalem. Its original dimensions were 21 X 7 meters, but, today, were reduced to 16 X 5 meters. Even so, it is perfectly possible to admire the details of the two million pieces of colored stone with which it was composed. In it are drawn valleys, rivers, cities, palm trees, animals, deserts, boats and some of the landmarks of the city that still stand, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Gate of Damascus and the Tower of David. If in the sixth century the map served as a guide for pilgrims who wanted to reach the Holy City, today it helps archaeologists dig Jerusalem for old structures that have not yet come to light.

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The mosaic map depicts an area from Lebanon in the north to the Nile Delta in the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert.

Among other features, it depicts the Dead Sea with two fishing boats, a variety of bridges linking the banks of the Jordan, fish swimming in the river and receding from the Dead Sea; a lion (rendered nearly unrecognisable by the insertion of random tesserae during a period of iconoclasm) hunting a gazelle in the Moab desert, palm-ringed Jericho, Bethlehem and other biblical-Christian sites.

The map may partially have served to facilitate pilgrims' orientation in the Holy Land.

All landscape units are labelled with explanations in Greek. A combination of folding perspective and aerial view depicts about 150 towns and villages, all of them labelled.

The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem, at the centre of the map. The mosaic clearly shows a number of significant structures in the Old City of Jerusalem: the Damascus Gate, the Lions' Gate, the Golden Gate, the Zion Gate, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the New Church of the Theotokos, the Tower of David and the Cardo Maximus. The recognisable depiction of the urban topography makes the mosaic a key source on Byzantine Jerusalem. Also unique are the detailed depictions of cities such as Neapolis, Askalon, Gaza, Pelusium and Charachmoba, all of them nearly detailed enough to be described as street maps.


The mosaic map of Madaba is the oldest known geographic floor mosaic in art history. It is used heavily for the localisation and verification of biblical sites. Study of the map played a major role in answering the question of the topographical location of Askalon (Asqalan on the map). In 1967, excavations in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem revealed the Nea Church and the Cardo Maximus in the very locations suggested by the Madaba Map.

In February 2010, excavations further substantiated its accuracy with the discovery of a road depicted in the map that runs through the center of Jerusalem. According to the map, the main entrance to the city was through a large gate opening into a wide central street. Until the discovery, archaeologists were not able to excavate this site due to heavy pedestrian traffic. In the wake of infrastructure work near the Jaffa Gate, large paving stones were discovered at a depth of 4 meters below ground that prove such a road existed.

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The map has an east orientation (east is at the top) and was probably based on Eusebius’ Onomasticon (with some corrections) and road networks. It is interesting to note that there is no “tongue” (land mass) protruding in the Dead Sea; possibly there was a higher water level at this time. In the Jordan River, the fish are swimming away from the (deadly waters of the) sea, there is boat traffic, and on the banks are gazelles and lions.

Tags:   الْأُرْدُنّ‎ المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎ Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdunnīyah Al-Hāshimīyah Jordan Al-'Urdunn The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Arab country Western Asia East Bank of the Jordan River God, Country, King King Abdullah II Jordan Explorer مادبا Via Regia Medba Medeba mosaicos bizantinos omíadas mosaico bizantino VI Mapa de Madaba mapa da Terra Santa mosaico mosaic piso floor igreja ortodoxa de São Jorge central Jordan Madaba Byzantine-era mosaics Christian Community the King's HIghway Madaba Archaeological site The Map on the floor of St. George's Church igreja church The Saint George's Church Igreja de São Jorge São George St. George masterpiece obra de arte cartographic cartografia tesserae tile The Madaba Map the Madaba Mosaic Map the Byzantine Church of Saint George Holy Land Israel Palestine The Greek Orthodox Church Igreja Ortotoxa Grega religion religião USAID ACOR UNESCO

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